Mobile communication technology has progressed rapidly in recent years. Consumers are increasingly employing mobile communication devices such as cellular phones, web-enabled cellular telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), hand-held computers, laptops, notebooks, tablets or other types of devices that are capable of communicating over public or private communication networks.
The size of these devices has also decreased in recent years. As the size of the devices decreases, there is an increasing demand for smaller and thinner components to be used within these devices. In this regard, MicroElectroMechanical System (MEMS) microphones and other components are sometimes used in mobile communication devices in order to reduce component (and hence overall device) size. Other approaches may also be used to minimize device and component size. For instance, in cellular phones, the spacing between the keyboard printed circuit board (PCB) (where the MEMS microphone is typically mounted) and the outer case of the phone may be reduced to a minimum in order to achieve an overall thin phone.
Due to their mobility and size, mobile communication devices are often dropped, hit, bumped, or otherwise abused, which loosens or otherwise damages the internal components of the device. For instance, if a cellular phone is hit on or around the receiver, a MEMS microphone deployed near the receiver may become dislodged or otherwise damaged rendering the cellular phone inoperative. As the size of electronic devices decreases, the likelihood of damage or inoperability due to applied mechanical stress or strain increases since the force impact on the electronic device is nearer to the MEMS components.
Previous approaches have been unsuccessful in both providing devices with thin or minimal dimensions and providing protection from mechanical stress, strain, or other forces applied to the device. For instance, in some previous systems, a compliant adhesive is used to mount the delicate MEMS components in the device. Unfortunately, in this approach, the MEMS components still become loosened or otherwise damaged since the adhesive loosens over time. Consequently, the stress, strain, or other forces applied to the mobile communication device still loosen or damage sensitive MEMS components in the device. This may, in turn, completely disable or create malfunctions in the device.
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